Monday, March 30, 2015

The Classics - Opening Lines: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. His parents called him Eustace Clarence and his schoolmasters called him Scrubb." (Published 1952)I love the classics and plan to share
some "opening lines" over the coming months. Comment if you like, or
read for inspiration. Writing styles were different then, but were they really?

16 comments:

I remember when I discovered The Narnia Chronicles. I was a college senior down with the flu. A friend came by and grinned down at me as I lay on my bed and felt sorry for myself. She plunked a pile of paperbacks on the table beside my bed and said, "These will help you feel better." They did. I started with the first. I was better before I read them all. That is how I got started with C. S. Lewis. I love that opening line, and to this day DAWN TREADER is just about my favorite. I had a job far from home that paid me very little when I was first out of college. As a treat, every month I would buy myself a hardbound copy of one or another of the Narnia books (the others, too). I still have them. Thanks for the memory. I may crack THE SILVER CHAIR this evening...

Hi Diana. My son read the entire Narnia series and loved it, and three nephews as I recall. I read the first one out loud to my kids, but I was personally more hooked on C.S. Lewis' other works at the time.....Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters, being two. What a phenomenal writer he was. He shaped my life too in so many ways. Really solidified my faith in God. Nice to hear from you again :)

Of Lewis' works I read Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters first. I discovered Narnia my senior year in college, before heading off to seminary for a year. I think the truly ugly paperback covers of that time had kept me from looking at them before then.

Incidentally, you might enjoy Dorothy Sayers' book THE MIND OF THE MAKER (if you haven't already read it). Lewis wrote a review of it. Very entertaining and profound at the same time.

Have not read this book, but for some reason I've heard of Sayers. I used to read mysteries, so wonder if I happened on one of her books in the library. Need to check out the one you mention. Thanks. Very interesting you were in seminary for a year! So then you dropped out to write novels? Now that's an interesting story....

(Sharon: forgive me for replying yet again, but I do have to say this.) I did not drop out of Seminary to write. The funding from my church sponsors (for seminary) fell through and I could not afford the tuition. I had to leave. I had been writing long before I went to college. Sometimes the roundabout way brings you the most peace. I am looking forward to your A to Z posts!

Oh, no worry, Diana.......But what you say does make sense. Our best thought out plans always have twists and turns, sometimes for the better, and certainly so in your case if it brought you the most peace :) See you in the A-Z!